How Europe determines whether asylum-seekers are gay
Ridiculous tests to sort those who fear persecution from those who do not
HOW can you tell if a refugee is gay? Austrian officials seem to have relied on old Bee Gees lyrics for a reason to reject an 18-year-old man from Afghanistan who said he risked persecution back home for his sexual orientation. “Neither your walk, your behaviour, nor your clothing indicate even in the slightest that you could be homosexual,” they told him. Confusingly, an Iraqi seeking asylum was reportedly rejected last month because he was too effeminate. Officers thought he was shamming.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Under the gaydar”
From the September 15th 2018 edition
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